The First Wives Club

1996 Comedy

Three women plot revenge on their two-timing husbands in this comedy. Brenda (Bette Midler), Elise (Goldie Hawn), and Annie (Diane Keaton) were close friends in college, but 27 years after graduation they've lost touch with each other, and it's not until a mutual friend of the three commits suicide that they meet at the funeral for the first time in years. It seems that their friend grew despondent after her husband left her for a younger woman, and all three find themselves in similar situations. Elise is an actress who finds herself out of work now that she's seen the shady side of 40, and her husband and producer Bill (Victor Garber) is demanding a divorce (and half of her fortune). Brenda helped her husband Morton (Dan Hedaya) open a profitable chain of discount electronics stores, but now that his commercials have made him a minor celebrity, he's taken up with a much younger (and thinner) woman. Annie has allowed her husband Aaron (Stephen Collins) to use her as a doormat throughout their marriage, and she's at a loss now that he's leaving her. After comparing notes, Brenda, Elise, and Annie decide that it's time to do something about their problems, and they hatch an elaborate blackmail scheme that will win them control of their ex-husband's businesses and allow them to do something positive with the money they helped earn. Heather Locklear and Ivana Trump both make cameo appearances. more..

Director: Hugh Wilson

Starring: Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn,Diane Keaton, Dan Hedaya, Stockard Channing

Reviews

  • It's a glamorous revenge romp, a "9 to 5" mixed with "Auntie Mame," and it gives each star the opportunity to do her best work in a long, long time.

    Edward Guthmann - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • The movie, from the 1992 best seller by Olivia Goldsmith, isn't deathless art. But as pure entertainment, this witty revenge romp is sinfully satisfying.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    27 April 2013

  • Yes, it's great that Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler -- all women of a certain age, though they've done their best to make sure no one's certain what it is -- get to carry a major motion picture, playing college chums reunited by the perfidy of men.

    - TV Guide

    27 April 2013

  • The First Wives Club has all the conviction a comedy of female vengeance needs. But as soon as the dumb plot takes over, the wit leaks out of the movie like helium from a balloon.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • There is undoubtedly a movie to be made about this material -- a different movie.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Top Box Office Films

    ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (1997)

  • Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score

    Academy Awards (1997)

     
  • Favorite Actress - Comedy

    Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1997)

  • Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy

    Casting Society of America (1997)

     
  • Best Acting by an Ensemble

    National Board of Review (1996)